Conference realignment cheat sheet: Why the SEC is stronger than ever
Change is the only constant in college sports these days, and following a recent wave of conference realignment, it will be a defining feature of the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season.
The Pac-12 — which had emerged as arguably the best women’s basketball league in the nation — is a shell of what it once was, with six former members now scattered across the ACC and Big Ten and four having moved to the Big 12. The SEC also looks different, as Texas and Oklahoma have joined the conference.
ESPN is here to help make sense of it all. Here’s a quick rundown of the four new non-geographic superconferences, including their preseason projections for the NCAA tournament heading into the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season.
We’ve also ranked each conference based on how many NCAA bids each league is projected to earn in the 2025 NCAA tournament, with average seed serving as the tiebreaker. All seeds reflect ESPN’s latest Women’s Bracketology.
1. SEC
Total teams: 16
New teams: 2 (Oklahoma, Texas)
Members: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Projected bids: 11
No. 1 seeds: 1 (South Carolina)
Top 16 seeds: 4 (South Carolina, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma)
Average seed: 5.5
Why the SEC ranks No. 1: Despite having the past two national champions, 2023 and 2024 were down years overall for the SEC. That should change this season as the SEC looks poised to return to being the deepest league in the country. The additions of Oklahoma and Texas create more competition for South Carolina and LSU. The predicted improvements at Kentucky, Auburn and Texas A&M, plus the steadying of the programs at Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Alabama, could mean a record number of NCAA tournament bids in 2025. — Charlie Creme
Biggest change: South Carolina remains the team to beat, but former Big 12 foes Texas and Oklahoma could emerge as challengers, coming in second and fourth, respectively, in the preseason SEC poll. The Longhorns won two of the past three Big 12 tournaments and clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season crown in 2023 alongside the Sooners, who won the title outright this past season. Both are also ranked top-10 in the AP poll.
New rivalry we’re looking forward to: South Carolina vs. Texas. Vic Schaefer is no stranger to the SEC or the Gamecocks, given his previous history coaching at Mississippi State. His Bulldogs faced South Carolina in his first of back-to-back national title game appearances in 2017, when Dawn Staley won her first championship. The squads — both of which could end up in Tampa, Florida, for the Final Four in April — face off Jan. 12 in Columbia and Feb. 9 in Austin.
Biggest questions: Just South Carolina and LSU made the Sweet 16 this past year after four SEC programs (those two plus Ole Miss and Tennessee) advanced that far in 2023. Will Texas and Oklahoma rep the conference in the 2025 regionals? Can middle-of-the-pack teams such as Ole Miss, Kentucky and Alabama break through? How will the legendary Tennessee program fare in the first year under new hire Kim Caldwell? — Alexa Philippou
2. Big Ten
Total teams: 18
New teams: 4 (Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington)
Members: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
Projected bids: 10
No. 1 seeds: 2 (USC, UCLA)
Top 16 seeds: 3 (USC, UCLA, Ohio State)
Average seed: 5.7
Why the Big Ten ranks No. 2: After tying its record of seven bids to the NCAA tournament last season, the Big Ten projects to add more next March. But while USC and UCLA give the Big Ten great strength at the top, large-scale personnel losses at some of the legacy conference schools leave the Big Ten with no other locks for the Sweet 16. Maryland, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio State will all look different from a year ago, making their potential more difficult to predict. The Big Ten hasn’t had a national champion since Purdue in 1999. — Creme
Biggest change: With USC and UCLA legitimate threats to make the Final Four, the Big Ten’s coast-to-coast marquee value is bigger. USC won NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984 and went to the Final Four again in 1986. UCLA won the AIAW championship in 1978 but has never been to the NCAA Final Four. Both programs seek their modern-day breakthrough as the Big Ten looks for its second national champion.
New rivalry we’re looking forward to: UCLA vs. Indiana. Bruins coach Cori Close is a disciple of late UCLA men’s coaching legend John Wooden. Competing in Wooden’s home state of Indiana — he played at Purdue 1928-32 — likely will be special to her. The Bruins face the Hoosiers in Bloomington on Jan. 4 and the Boilermakers in West Lafayette on Jan. 7. Indiana is on a stretch of five NCAA tournament appearances in a row (the Hoosiers also would have made it in 2020 had there been a tournament), so that potential rivalry with UCLA could be fun to watch develop.
Biggest questions: If USC and UCLA are indeed the Big Ten’s best teams, will it hurt their NCAA tournament chances to have to adjust this season to a new conference and the additional travel that entails? The positive way to look at it is that they will be thoroughly tested by tournament time. But there is a lot for the Trojans and Bruins to get used to. — Michael Voepel
3. ACC
Total teams: 17
New teams: 3 (Cal, SMU, Stanford)
Members: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Projected bids: 10
No. 1 seeds: None
Top 16 seeds: 4 (Notre Dame, NC State, Duke, North Carolina)
Average seed: 6.2
Why the ACC ranks No. 3: The ACC is perhaps the most competitive of all the major conferences, and as many as five teams could win the regular-season title. Notre Dame and NC State are the favorites and look like the ACC’s best bets at having a Final Four team for the fourth straight season (NC State, Virginia Tech and Louisville are the past three). How Stanford adjusts to its new league with a new coach, and how Clemson and Miami also adjust to coaching changes, will determine the ACC’s NCAA tournament depth. — Creme
Biggest change: The newcomers aren’t projected to be real contenders in ACC play — Stanford was ranked highest in the preseason poll at seventh. The biggest changes might come from the sidelines: Megan Duffy replaced Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech, which he turned into an ACC power. Miami’s Katie Meier, the conference’s longest-tenured head coach, retired this offseason, as did Stanford’s legendary Tara VanDerveer. Tricia Cullop and Kate Paye assumed those jobs, while Shawn Poppie took the reins at Clemson.
New rivalry we’re looking forward to: NC State vs. Stanford. The 3-seed Wolfpack knocked off the 2-seed Cardinal in the 2024 Sweet 16 en route to NC State’s first Final Four appearance since 1998. That regional semifinal also ended up being the final game of VanDerveer’s coaching career. The Wolfpack and Cardinal meet once this season, Jan. 12 at Stanford.
Biggest questions: This is poised to be Niele Ivey’s best team since she took over for Muffet McGraw — can Notre Dame make it to the Final Four for the first time in Ivey’s tenure? Elsewhere, all eyes will be on whether Duke can take the next step and on how historic power Stanford navigates its first year in the league and first without VanDerveer. — Philippou
4. Big 12
Total teams: 16
New teams: 4 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah)
Members: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia
Projected bids: 8
No. 1 seeds: None
Top 16 seeds: 4 (Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas State, West Virginia)
Average seed: 5.9
Why the Big 12 ranks No. 4: Losing Oklahoma and Texas and gaining Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah is a net loss for the Big 12 because of timing. The Buffs and Utes lost the best players who made each a No. 5 seed last season, while the Sooners and Longhorns retained most of their top players. If the Big 12 elevates above the No. 4 spot on this list, it likely will be because Kansas State and West Virginia outplayed their projection as No. 4 seeds. — Creme
Biggest change: Lost rivalries, especially Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, which went back to 1975 for women’s basketball. Departures of Oklahoma and Texas, the Big 12’s top two teams the past two seasons, leave a void. Adding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF last season was not the boost on the women’s side that it was on the men’s; they finished in the bottom five in the Big 12 women’s standings. This season’s Big 12 newcomers should adjust more quickly after being in a conference as competitive as the Pac-12.
New rivalry we’re looking forward to: Arizona vs. Kansas. This is potentially a bigger deal on the men’s side, as both those programs are former national champions. But in general, these schools are both brand names in basketball. An old rivalry also will be rekindled for the Jayhawks: Longtime fans remember Colorado-Kansas battles in the Big Eight and Big 12.
Biggest questions: Does the Big 12 have a legitimate Final Four contender? No. 8 Iowa State is the conference’s highest-ranked team in the preseason, but the Cyclones have never made it to the Final Four. Neither has No. 13 Kansas State or No. 16 West Virginia. No. 12 Baylor has three national championships, but all were under former coach Kim Mulkey. The Final Four isn’t a fair measuring stick for the Big 12 this year. Instead, it’s how many teams will advance to the Sweet 16. — Voepel
